Goodfellas The Actors Who Almost Played Henry Hill

Goodfellas: The Actors Who Almost Played Henry Hill

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Ray Liotta starred in Goodfellas as mob associate Henry Hill, but he wasn’t the only actor considered for the role. Let’s take a look.

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Goodfellas The Actors Who Almost Played Henry Hill

Goodfellas gave Ray Liotta’s career a big push, but he wasn’t the only actor considered to play the lead role of Henry Hill. Martin Scorsese has explored various genres throughout his career as a filmmaker, becoming one of the most respected directors in the industry, but he continues to be best known for his gangster movies. Although he has contributed a lot to the genre, the one movie that is often regarded as his best in this area is none other than Goodfellas.

Based on the book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, Goodfellas chronicles the life of Henry Hill, from his days as a teenager fascinated by the mafia presence in his neighborhood to his association with the crime family of Paul Cicero (Paul Sorvino), ending with his decision to become an FBI informat, through which he was able to get out of the mob. Although Goodfellas’ box office numbers are not impressive (but not bad either), the movie was a big hit, especially with critics, of which many have called it the high point of Scorsese’s career. Goodfellas was nominated for various awards, and it took the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor thanks to Joe Pesci’s performance as Tommy DeVito (whose real name was Tommy DeSimone).

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Aside from the awards and praise, Goodfellas boosted the careers of some of its actors, especially that of Ray Liotta. Although he wasn’t a newcomer and was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in Something Wild, Goodfellas was his biggest work at the time, which gave him worldwide recognition. However, Liotta wasn’t the first option to play Henry Hill, and many other well-known names were in consideration for this role.

Goodfellas: Alec Baldwin Auditioned To Play Henry Hill

Henry Hill could’ve been played by Alec Baldwin, who actually auditioned for it. Back then, Baldwin was a better-known name in the industry than Ray Liotta, having starred in movies like Beetlejuice and TV shows like The Doctors, but he probably wasn’t what the producers were looking for. The same year Goodfellas was released, Baldwin appeared in the movies The Hunt for Red October, Miami Blues, and Alice, and has since taken part in a number of projects, but he might be best known now for his interpretation of Donald Trump in Saturday Night Live. Another big name considered to play Henry Hill was Tom Cruise, who had already made himself known in the industry thanks to the movies Risky Business and Top Gun. Not playing Henry Hill was not a big loss for Cruise, as he went on to become one of the biggest stars in the industry thanks to movies like the Mission: Impossible series.

Other actors who were considered for the role of Henry Hill in Goodfellas are Nicolas Cage, Sean Penn, and John Travolta. Nicolas Cage was no newcomer at the time, thanks to movies like Rumble Fish and Raising Arizona, and has since appeared in a number of movies from different genres. Sean Penn had appeared in movies like Fast Times at Ridgemont High and other projects which didn’t do well with critics and viewers, and while his career would have benefitted from playing Henry Hill, it eventually took off, and he became one of the most respected actors of his generation. Last but not least, John Travolta was a big name in the 1970s thanks to Saturday Night Fever and Grease, and his big comeback arrived in 1994 with Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. Funny enough, in 2018 Travolta starred in Gotti as the boss of the Gambino crime family John Gotti, who is said to have been the one who ordered the assassination of Tommy DeSimone, or even killed him himself.

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As for Liotta, following the success of Goodfellas, he appeared in various film and TV projects, such as Phoenix, Narc, and Marriage Story, as well as the TV movie The Rat Pack (where he played Frank Sinatra), and the TV shows ER (for which he got an Emmy nomination) and Shades of Blue. It’s hard to say if any of the above-mentioned actors could have played a better Henry Hill than Ray Liotta, but he did an excellent job as the troubled gangster.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/goodfellas-movie-henry-hill-ray-liotta-actors-almost-cast/

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